• US accuses Russia of using chemical weapons in Ukraine
• Kremlin denies allegations, reaffirms commitment to Chemical Weapons Convention
• Sanctions imposed on Russian organizations linked to chemical weapons program

The United States has accused Russia of violating international laws prohibiting the use of chemical weapons by employing them as a “method of warfare” in Ukraine. 

According to State Department officials, Russia achieved “battlefield gains” over Ukraine by employing the choking agent chloropicrin. 

According to US officials, the allegations were not an “isolated” incident and would violate Russia’s signature on the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). 

The accusations were labeled “baseless” by a Kremlin spokesperson in response to them. 

Dmitry Peskov told reporters in Moscow that Russia remained committed to its responsibilities under the CWC, an agreement that forbids the development or acquisition of new weapons by states. The convention has been ratified by 193 states in total. 

A chemical weapon is defined by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), an international monitor that supervises the CWC’s implementation, as a substance whose toxic properties are intentionally employed to cause death or injury. 

The United States asserts that Russia “dislodged Ukrainian forces from fortified positions” using chloropicrin, an oily substance that was extensively employed throughout World War I. It is capable of inducing vomiting, nausea, and diarrhea, in addition to irritation of the skin, eyes, and airways, as stated by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

The military application of the chemical is explicitly prohibited by the CWC and is classified by the OPCW as a suffocating agent. 

The State Department also reported that tear gas, or “riot control agents,” was frequently employed by Moscow throughout the conflict. 

In the past, Russia has been cautioned by President Joe Biden against the deployment of chemical weapons in Ukraine. Mr. Biden threatened President Vladimir Putin with a “severe price” in March 2022, mere weeks after Moscow initiated its invasion, should he grant authorization for the utilization of chemical weapons. 

“Should he employ it, we shall react.” “The response would be contingent upon the nature of the application,” Mr. Biden explained. 

However, consistent reports indicate that Moscow disregarded the aforementioned warning. Mallory Stewart, the US assistant secretary for arms control, has previously asserted that Russia was employing riot control agents during the conflict. 

Moreover, according to Ukraine, chemical attacks against its forces have intensified in recent months. Earlier this year, Reuters reported that Russian forces had employed canisters containing CS and CN tear gas. 

At least 500 Ukrainian soldiers have been treated for exposure to toxic gases, and one has perished from suffocation caused by tear gas, according to the report. 

The State Department imposed sanctions on three Russian organizations associated with the nation’s biological and chemical weapons program due to their involvement in the manufacturing of chemical agents. Additional companies that provided support to government entities were also subject to sanctions. 

As mandated by the CWC, the OPCW reported in 2017 that Russia had obliterated the final stockpile of weapons from the Cold War era. 

Since then, however, Moscow has been accused of providing insufficient declarations of its stockpile, according to the House of Commons library in the United Kingdom. 

At least two chemical attacks have been attributed to Russia since 2017: the Salisbury attack, which claimed the life of a former Soviet intelligence officer, and the poisoning of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in 2020. 

The accusations are contained within a larger set of sanctions imposed by the United States, which targeted thirty individuals, three of whom, according to officials, were implicated in the demise of Mr. Navalny. 

All of the men are Siberian penal colony officials, where the opposition activist was murdered earlier this year. Russia denies any involvement in the murder of the opposition leader.

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In the interim, Russian forces in eastern Ukraine have maintained their consistent progress in anticipation of the nation’s Victory Day observances on May 9th. This day honors the Soviet Union’s triumph in World War II. 

A considerable amount of combat has transpired in the vicinity of Chasiv Yar, a stronghold under the control of Kyiv that Russia has been endeavoring to penetrate after its conquest of Avdiivka. It is believed that Moscow is attempting to occupy the city before the festivities next week. 

It follows the dismissal by President Volodymyr Zelensky of Illya Vityuk, the director of the cyber-security department of Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU), on suspicion that he attempted to use his position to extort a Ukrainian journalist who had exposed corruption allegations against him. 

Subsequently, the reporter was summoned to a military recruitment center, which prompted an investigation by military chief colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi. 

In a separate development, the non-governmental organization Human Rights Watch has demanded an investigation into war crimes after discovering evidence that Russian forces executed more than a dozen Ukrainian troops who were surrendering. The alleged events transpired from February 2024 to December 2023, according to a statement from the organization.

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